Trust Me
by Spnchick09
Summary: It's the coldest temperatures California has seen in years. And as Ruthie looks over the roof, she sees the one man she's refused to trust. Today, however, she has no other choice. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own 7th Heaven, nor do I own anything affiliated with it.

**Author's Note: **So my mom and I went to Kroger's, and out of nowhere this idea came into my head. So as soon as I got home, I marked it down on my electronic notepad and now I've worked up enough in my head to sit and write it. It starts out slow, without any connection to the summary, really. But I promise it picks up. Hopefully, it will satisfy. And maybe earn a review...hint hint.

* * *

The wind was brisk, chilling anyone brave enough to exit their home to the bones. California hadn't felt temperatures this cold in years. Stay-at-home mothers had hurriedly run to the nearest supermarkets to gather food supplies and numerous other items that would be needed. After a highly rare threat of snow, the southern Californian population were all stocking up. 

Annie Camden wasn't one to be excluded. Lightly humming to herself, she removed canned goods from a brown paper bag and placed them into the cabinet above her.

She was standing next to the refrigerator, so content with her task that she didn't even notice Ruthie standing beside her.

"Hungry?" she questioned, watching Ruthie aimlessly open the refrigerator door with a blank stare.

"Not really," she mumbled, shutting the door and walking towards the stairway in the kitchen.

Annie sighed, watching her heartbroken daughter slowly make her ascent towards her attic bedroom.

He hadn't returned in months. Martin had promised her that he'd come visit them, maybe even with Aaron. Yet he'd never arrived on the Camdens' doorstep, much to Ruthie's dismay. She had yet to hear from him, and no matter how much she tried to deny it, she was still in love with him.

Annie realized she'd been staring off into space, thoughts of the happy Ruthie that had once lived there in her mind, and quickly returned to her task.

"Do you think he even misses me?"

Annie jumped, her daughter's sudden voice shocking her. Ruthie had seated herself on a bar stool, her elbows resting on the countertop of the island. Her brunette locks had fallen across her shoulders, a stray one sliding down as she sighed and allowed her head to fall further into her hands.

"I'm sure he does, sweetie," Annie assured her.

"Then why doesn't he call?" she mumbled.

Annie let a breath escape, closing her eyes momentarily. "Ruthie, he's a father, sweetheart. He's got a son to take care of, and I'm sure he's busy with that."

"I know. I just wish he'd come by sometime, or at least call. E-mail, write, text...there's a million things he can do, Mom," Ruthie whined, rubbing her eyes with her fingertips.

"Ruthie, I can't force him to call. As much as I want to, it's not in my power."

The young brunette sighed. "I know. It's just not fair. He promised me, Mom," she said quietly, looking up at her mother with pain-filled eyes. "I don't know if I'll ever trust him again."

* * *

Martin took the exit for Glenoak, smiling to himself at the familiar signs and restaurants just off the road. Once he'd approached the stoplight at the bottom of the small hill, he smiled over at a nervous Sandy. 

Chuckling to himself, he asked, "Why are you so nervous? You've seen all of them before."

"I just don't want Aaron getting sick," she sheepishly admitted, smiling.

Martin playfully rolled his eyes. "Aaron will be fine. Believe me, there isn't one sickness the Camdens would pass onto him. I've already called Reverend Camden. Everyone is healthy," he assured her, smiling at his five-month old son in the rearview mirror.

"How long are we staying?" she asked, readjusting in her seat as he made the turn onto the highway.

"I don't know. We'll leave with plenty of time to get back, I promise. Besides, the Camdens haven't seen Aaron since he was born. And they've always been a family to me, so Aaron should be counted in that as well."

Sandy shifted uncomfortably, twiddling her thumbs in her lap.

"San, they've already welcomed you into the family. Stop worrying," he said, looking over at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road.

Sandy sheepishly grinned, remembering how well Martin was able to read her expression. "Sorry."

Martin half-smiled, turning right. He looked into the rearview mirror, his son's green eyes hidden by his sleepy eyelids. His small head was falling up and down in a rhythmic pattern, before it finally hung over as Aaron fell asleep.

"Look at him," Martin said quietly, nodding at his son through the rearview mirror.

Sandy turned around, smiling at her son. "I love him more every day."

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

Ruthie sighed, pulling on a white tank top and some thin, pink, pajama pants. Her mother had turned on the heat, hoping to ward away the cold, but the heat was almost stifling. 

Ruthie pulled her hair up into a careless bun, a few strands sweeping in front of her eyes. She sighed, sitting on her bed with a romance novel in her lap.

She could hear her mother yelling about something downstairs, but she was too engrossed in her thoughts to pay attention to the words her mother was yelling.

Had she been listening, she'd have heard that a fire had started in the living room. And she'd have heard her family scrambling out.

* * *

Martin turned onto the familiar street of the Camden home, noticing black smoke in the sky. A sickening feeling took over the pit of her stomach, but he briefly ignored it. 

"Oh my God..." Sandy muttered, as Martin stopped short in front of the Camden home.

The lower floor had fire pouring out the windows, which looked like they had been pried open to send out smoke. Apparently, however, the fire had spread too quickly, and now the flames were reaching out the windows.

"Where is everybody?" Sandy asked.

Martin didn't hear her, however, as he stumbled out of the car, his eyes still wide and awestruck from the scene before him. The Camden parsonage was on fire. It was a dream, it had to be.

To his relief, he saw Eric, Annie, Sam, and David, along with Happy, running to the front yard from the back. Martin breathed a momentary sigh of relief, before realizing Ruthie wasn't with them.

"Martin, what're you doing here?" Eric asked.

The men heard Annie let out a cry, seeing the lower floor of her home go up in flames. Martin just shook his head side to side, not able to form a sentence.

Eric looked around, before his eyes widened and he screamed, "Where's Ruthie?"

* * *

Ruthie noticed the smell of smoke, figuring it was from the fireplace in the living room that was rarely used. After a while, she figured, the smell would go away. She returned to her book, looking over to her bedside table when her phone began to ring. 

She saw the name "Martin" appear on her caller id, and she almost didn't believe it. She hurriedly opened her phone, before answering with a peppy, "Hello?"

"Ruth, you've got to get out of the house," his voice said hastily.

"What?" she asked, closing her book.

"Look, I'm in the front yard with your family. The house is on fire, and we can't tell how fast it's spreading. You have to get outside."

Ruthie gulped, walking slowly towards her bedroom door.

"Ruth, don't open it," he said, almost reading her mind. "Is the door hot?"

Ruthie pressed her hand to the door, before whimpering. "Yeah, scorching."

"Damn," he cursed quietly. "Okay, uh, stuff a couple towels against the crack of your door so you can keep smoke out. Is there any coming in?" he asked.

Ruthie looked down, letting a stress-filled sigh escape her lips. "A little."

"Find some towels," he ordered, shifting on his feet.

She did as she was told, hearing her mother's worried voice ask, "Is she okay? What's she doing? Why isn't she out here?"

Martin, however, didn't answer her, too content with making sure Ruthie was safe for the time being.

"Ruth, can you open your attic window?" he asked her.

Ruthie inhaled deeply, before replying, "Yeah, I can."

"Do it, then."

She did as she was told, hurriedly opening the window.

"Question. Can you get out through it?" Martin asked.

"God, I don't know," she exasperatedly cried, starting to "lose her cool."

"Can you try? I don't want you in there," he said.

Had this been an ordinary day, she'd have been elated with his concern. Now, however, she just wanted out of the house.

Ruthie took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Yeah. I've got to get a chair to get up there, though."

"Alright, just try to get out, okay?"

Ruthie nodded to herself, muttering a "Hold on" as she set her phone down and carried her desk chair over to her attic window. She could smell the smoke getting stronger, and she coughed a bit.

She picked her phone back up, choking out, "The smoke's getting thicker."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, for now," she said quietly.

She was silent, climbing onto the chair. Holding her phone in her shaky hand, she peered out the window. Martin's worried eyes were peering back up at her, and he smiled weakly, gulping. "Good. Can you at least get on the roof?"

Ruthie started to panic, shaking her head. "No. I might fall, Martin. I'm going back in..."

"No!" he protested, walking towards the house. "You can't do that. Listen to me, you've got to get onto the roof. You won't fall, I promise."

Ruthie didn't move, her breathing erratic.

"Ruth, just climb out. One step at a time," he said quietly into his phone.

She did as she was told, slowly climbing out with her phone in her mouth. She carefully perched herself on the roof, sitting as she slowly slid down.

"Can you see over the edge?" he asked, referring to the makeshift balcony on the Camden home.

"Yeah," she replied.

"How far does it look?"

She peered over a moment, before contemplating it and answering, "Not too bad. I think I can jump."

"Okay, take as long as you need."

She sat still for a moment, praying and breathing deeply. After a couple of minutes, she slowly slid to the edge, her legs hanging off.

"Ruth, you can do it. Just jump," he whispered into the phone receiver.

That was all the reassurance she needed, and after closing her eyes, she slid off, falling to the small balcony.

"Ow!" she squealed.

"Ruthie!" Martin yelled, stepping back a couple of feet to see her.

He hurriedly put his phone to his ear, frantically asking, "Ruth? What happened?"

"I think I twisted my ankle. I'm okay, though," she answered, her breathing short.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Can you crawl to the edge so your mom knows you're alright?" he asked, chuckling lightly.

Ruthie smiled to herself. "Yeah."

She carefully made her way over, pulling herself up by the white railing around the first tier of the Camden home roof.

Annie breathed a sigh of relief, waving. Ruthie snickered, waving back.

The moment was interrupted by a flame bursting through the attic window.

Ruthie whimpered, recoiling and falling to the roof beneath her.

"Martin, where's the fire department?"

Martin turned around to face Eric and Annie, and asked, "Have either one of you called the fire department?"

Eric and Annie exchanged glances, sighing. "No..."

"Sandy!"

She emerged from the car, after watching the scene unfold. "Yeah?"

"Can you call the police?" he asked.

She nodded, returning into the car and getting onto her cell phone.

Martin looked back towards Ruthie, noticing flames emerging from windows near her.

"Ruthie!" he called, putting his phone down to his side.

She looked through the railing, crying.

"You're going to have to jump!" he screamed.

Ruthie's eyes widened in fear, shaking her head vigorously. "No, are you crazy?" she yelled.

"Ruthie, if you don't jump, you're going to get hurt!" he yelled back.

"I'll get hurt jumping!" she retorted.

"Ruth, I'll catch you!" he called up to her, walking closer. "You've got to jump!"

He watched in fear as another flame licked through the window near her, and she cried out. "I just can't, Martin! I can't do it!" she squealed.

"Ruthie, look at me!" he commanded.

She hesitantly looked towards the 19-year old on the ground below her.

"You can do this, I promise. I'm going to be right here," he said, his voice quieter than it had been for a while.

She was still uncertain, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Ruthie, you have to trust me," he said quietly.

She sat quietly, contemplating the word he'd used.

_Trust._

Her level of trust in him had significantly decreased in the last few months, and now he was asking her to trust him to jump off a roof. It was crazy. And yet, she had no other choice.

She slowly stood, limping a bit when she placed weight on her left ankle. She stood still a moment, before carefully climbing over the white railing and leaving her back to the family behind her.

"Good," Martin coached her on. "Now, can you turn around?"

She took a deep breath, turning around to face him. She held on tight with her arms, widening her eyes at the distance between her and the ground.

"I'm going to die," she muttered.

"Ruth, you'll be fine. Just take a deep breath, and jump. I'll catch you."

She screamed, a flame exploding out the window behind her. "Oh my God, I can't do this," she babbled.

"Ruthie," he said calmly, still watching her. "Trust me. You're going to be fine. All you've got to do is take a deep breath, jump, and then you'll be safe."

"Easier said than done," she grumbled.

"C'mon, Ruthie. You can jump," he assured her.

Ruthie felt her knees begin wobbling. "Can't I just wait for the fire department to get here?" she asked with a shaky voice.

There were flames pouring out of the house, so to Martin and the rest of the Camdens, leaving Ruthie there for minutes would be more dangerous than watching her jump off the roof would be.

"Ruthie, I'm not going to let you hit the ground. I promise."

Ruthie was quiet, her bottom lip quivering as she gripped the railing behind her. "Martin..." she stuttered.

"Ruth, trust me."

Her heart was pounding out of her chest, and she felt her breathing shallow as she mentally prepared herself for this.

"You ready?" Martin asked, popping his neck.

Ruthie coughed from the smoke behind her, before slowly nodding. "Yeah."

"Jump," he whispered.

Eric and Annie watched on in fear as Ruthie closed her eyes. She slowly opened them, taking a few deep breaths.

He was right below her. All she had to do was jump, and he would catch her. She knew he would.

"Please catch me," she pleaded.

"Ruth, I'm not going to let you fall. I promise."

She was still a moment, the fire burning behind her, as she prayed that she'd make it to Earth safely. She released her right hand from the railing, and placed it on her stomach, trying to calm the butterflies flying there. She slowly pulled away her left hand, and whimpered as she jumped.

Her eyes were closed, praying as she fell. She felt strong arms grab her middle, as she fell to the ground.

"Ow," she heard him say quietly.

She opened her eyes, seeing Martin underneath her. "Hi," he greeted, chuckling.

"Hi. Did I hurt you?"

"Nah. I just hit my head on the ground a little harder than I thought I would," he chuckled.

"Good. Thank you for catching me," she offered.

Martin smiled. "You're welcome. Not that I don't enjoy talking to you, but could you get off me? You're cutting off my air supply," he laughed.

Ruthie smiled, standing. Her smile faded as she began to fall from the pain in her ankle, but Martin caught her and held her up.

The two heard sirens approaching, and sighed. Finally, the fire department was here. The men hurriedly began spraying the house down with water, while Martin walked Ruthie slowly over to an ambulance.

"You alright, sir?" the EMT asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Martin told her. "Ruthie was jumping off her roof, and hurt her ankle. Could you check it out, please?" he requested.

The woman gave them a strange look. "Jumping off a roof?"

"Long story," Ruthie said quietly, still a bit shaky from her fall.

The woman began examining her, and Martin watched the Camdens as they talked with a fire investigator. He made his way over to his small SUV, and saw Sandy inside. He opened the passenger door, hearing the chatter of Sam and David in the back.

"That was pretty noble of you," Sandy said.

Martin smiled. "I didn't want her up there any more than her parents did."

"Did she hurt you?" she asked.

"I hit my head on the ground, but nothing serious. Is Aaron asleep?" he asked.

Sandy shook her head. "No. Eric and Annie let Sam and David wait in here since it's so cold, so Aaron's been awake for a while."

Martin nodded, opening the door to the back seats.

"Hey guys. You mind if I get Aaron out?"

Sam and David let out sighs of dismay. "We were having fun playing with him," Sam said quietly.

Martin smiled to himself, lifting the young marshmallow out of his seat. "He'll come back. He just has to go meet someone."

"Martin, wrap him in some blankets. I don't want him getting cold."

Martin began wrapping his son in blankets, and pulled a hat on his head. "Does he have Mommy's approval?" he asked.

Sandy smiled. "Yes, he does."

Martin nodded, shutting the door and walking over to Ruthie, who was getting her ankle bandaged up.

"Hey. There's someone I want you to meet," he smiled, handing his son over to her.

"This is Aaron Scott Jameson-Brewer," he said quietly, smiling to himself as she marveled at the young boy in her arms.

"He has your eyes," she grinned.

"Yeah," he agreed, turning to see the Camden parsonage.

It was black, covered with soot and ashes. It was barely recognizable, but it was still standing. Eric and Annie walked over to Ruthie, smiling at her.

"You alright?"

Ruthie nodded, smiling up at Martin. "I'm fine," she replied, handing Aaron back to Martin when he began to cry.

Eric and Annie went to find Sam and David, and Martin turned to Ruthie. The two noticed Aaron's crying ceased, and Ruthie smiled.

"He trusts you. He knows you'll keep him safe."

"Yeah, I guess he does."

Ruthie stood up carefully, walking to him. He noticed her shivering, and slid off his jacket one arm at a time, carefully switching Aaron between his arms as he did. Once he'd given her leather jacket to her, she smiled warmly and continued, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me. Giving me the courage to jump off my house."

Martin shrugged. "I didn't do any of that. You just had to trust me."

Ruthie smiled. "I did."

"You should still trust me," he told her, staring her in the eyes.

She was silent, an expression on her face that Martin couldn't read. "I do still trust you. But you didn't call."

Martin sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I just got caught up in the hype of having a son. I didn't hardly have time for anything."

Ruthie nodded. "I understand that. And I shouldn't be so upset about it."

Martin's brows furrowed. "How upset?"

"You know how much I care about you," she replied.

"Yeah, I do. And I'm sorry. I promise to call you at least once a week."

Ruthie glowered at him, folding her arms across her chest.

He chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Trust me."


End file.
